"I would never have allowed my name to go forward in this process had I not felt that God wanted me to be in this process," Barlowe, who has been in a 24-year relation ship with his partner, Paul Burrows, said at a news conference yesterday in Newark. "I reached that not just (from) my own personal perspective, but through consultation with folks who I find are wise and spiritually oriented and are able to assess things in ways that bring clarity to me.

"In my experience, when God asks me to do something, God never gives me something that is impossible to do," he said.

The candidates began meeting Wednesday evening with members of the diocese, which represents about 30,000 Episcopalians in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Hudson, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties, and a church in Summit, in Union County. The meet ings will continue through Sunday.

In addition to Barlowe, those seeking to become bishop are the Rev. Mark Beckwith of Worcester, Mass.; Assistant Bishop Carol Gallagher of Newark; the Very Rev. Canon Petero A.N. Sabune, of Ossining, N.Y.; the Rev. William Potter, rector of St. Luke's Church in Hope, Warren County; and the Rev. William "Chip" Stokes of Delray Beach, Fla.

Beckwith and Sabune worked in the Newark diocese years ago. Gallagher and Potter work there now. Barlowe, now congrega tional development officer for the Diocese of California, has worked in the Diocese of New Jersey, in Plainfield and Westfield.

About 460 clergy and lay people will vote in an election certain to draw national attention given Barlowe's presence on the ballot and the uproar from the election three years ago of New Hampshire's Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop.

Opponents of Robinson's consecration, who believe homosexuality is a sin, have threatened to split with the national church. Some conservative branches of the 77-million member Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a 2.3-million-member part, have been diminishing ties.

In Newark yesterday, all six candidates said they agreed with the church's decisions to confirm Robinson and to authorize same- sex unions in dioceses where bishops allow them.

The Episcopal Church has not apologized for consecrating Robinson. But in June, after pressure from abroad, the national church effectively pressured its own dioceses not to elect gay bishops.

Several candidates said yesterday that they wished the church -- not to mention the media -- would give less attention to the sexuality of bishops and instead focus on issues like caring for the poor and increasing church membership.

"We have to move beyond this one disabling issue and get over this preoccupation... and get on with the problems that are facing our people and our planet," Pot ter said.

Unlike the other candidates, Potter and Gallagher were not selected by the bishop's nominating committee. Rather, they were nominated by petition, days after the four others were announced.

Yesterday, the candidates gave brief answers to a variety of questions on cultivating churches in a diocese where membership is declining; how accessible they would be as bishop; and their leadership styles compared to the current bishop, John Crone berger, and his predecessor, John Shelby Spong.

Jeff Diamant covers religion. You may reach him at jdiamant@starled ger.com or (973) 392-1547.

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